Gun cartridge holder



Oct. 20, 1964 F. A. PACHMAYR ETAL 3,153,500

GUN CARTRIDGE HOLDER Filed Nov. 20, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l2 L 12 :9 IO [3 -3 f l ,u

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LLOYD 1,. Huszev INVENTORS ATTOEHEV 1964 F. A. PACHMAYR ETALQ 3,153,500

GUN CARTRIDGE HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 20, 1961 Ham m L w ATTOQNEY United States Patent 3,1535% GUN CARTRHD E HULDER Frank A. lachmayr, Culver Qity, and Lloyd L. li'usiiey, Alhambra, Calii, assignors to Firearm Accessories, End, L Angeies, Calif a corporation of (Ialiifornia Filed Nov. 24), 196i, Ser. No. 153,394 5 Claims. (Cl. 224-32) This invention relates to an improved type of cartridge holder for receiving and releasably holding a series of gun cartridges, the device preferably being designed to be attached to and be carried by a users belt.

Cartridge holders embodying the invention are formed of a body of elastomeric material, such as rubber, containing a series of pasasges into which individual cartridges are separately insertable, with the device acting to frictionally grip the cartridges in a manner retaining them in the passages. Certain particular features of the invention reside in a unique way of forming the holder and its passages in a manner optimizing the gripping engagement between the holder and a cartridge. More specifically, the device is so designed as to assure a sufficiently tight frictional engagement between the holder and cartridge to, under all conditions, positively hold the cartridge against accidental removal from the device, while at the same time maintaining the frictional engagement sufiiciently tight to enable a user to easily remove the cartridge from the holder when desired. Further, the holder is designed in a manner such that it may have this optimum type of gripping engagement with any of several diiferent sizes of cartridges.

The holder is usually worn on a belt with the cartridges disposed in vertically extending positions. When the cartridges are held in such vertical positions, an additional object of the invention is to so design the cartridge receiving passages as to avoid the entrapment of rain or moisture in the passages, even when cartridges are located therein.

The holder is desirably so formed as to contain, within the interiors of the various cartridge receiving passages, localized projections or lugs which extend into the passages in a manner forming areas at which the primary gripping action of the holder with respect to the cartridges is attained. In one form of the invention, these projections extend essentially about the cartridge, desirably at a plurality of axially spaced locations, with at least some of the projections preferably being spaced inwardly from the ends of the passages. In another form of the invention, the projections extend generally axially within the passages. V

In either of these two arrangements, however, it is preferred that the projections be so formed that they are not circularly continuous about a particular cartridge but rather are interrupted at one or more locations about the cartridge, so that different localized lugs or'portions of a lug may expand radially outwardly in diiierent directions, and separately, when engaged by a cartridge, in a manner avoiding the development of excessively tight gripping engagement with the cartridge. The increased radial expansibility attained by such interruption of the projections at diiferent locations about the peripheries of the cartridges also enables the projections to etiectively engage and grip any of several different sizes of cartridges, without either gripping the larger sizes too tightly, or gripping the smaller sizes too loosely. In addition, the formation of interruptions or gaps in the projections enables. rain or moisture to easily fall downwardly past the cartridges, for discharge from the lower ends of the cartridge receiving passages, so that moisture-cannot accumulate in the passages.

, To prevent the cartridge gripping rojections in one passage from interfering with the projections in an adjacent 3,153,500 Patented Get. 20, 1964 passage, when the projections are in expanded condition, I find it desirable in some instances to offset the projecs tions of adjacent passages axially with respect to one another. Also, the radial expansibility of the body of the device at the projection locations may be enhanced by providing at both the front and rear sides of the holder relatively thin walls extending about and defining the cartridge passages. These walls extend about the cartridge passages in a manner forming recesses on both the front and rear sides of the cartridge holder, extending parallel to the cartridge passages at locations between successive passages, all in a manner attaining the discussed increased expansibility of the elastomeric body at the gripping projection locations. When the cartridges to be held are rifle cartridges, the lower or axially inner ends of the passages may have a projection or series of projections with an internal diameter or transverse dimension smaller than any of the other projections in the V passages.

The above and other features and objects of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the typical embodiments illustrated in'the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a cartridge holder constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear View of the holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view, partially in plan and partially in section, taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are enlarged fragmentary horizontal sections taken on lines 5-5 and 66 respectively of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FlG.5, but showing a variational form of cartridge gripping projection;

FIG. 8 illustrates the FIG. 7 device as it appears with a cartridge received in the cartridge passage;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a variational form of the invention;

PEG. 10 is a section taken on line 1tl10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. ll is a perspective view of still another form of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a front view of a final form of the invention, partially broken away; and

FIGS. 13 and 14 are horizontal sections corresponding to FIG. 5, but showing two other forms of the invention.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 6, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, l have shown at ill acartridge holder, as it appears when attached to the belt 11 of a wearer. Holder 19 is adapted to receive and retain a series of rifle cartridges 12, the holder as typically illustrated being adapted to receive ten such cartridges. These cartridges may be of any conventional type, normally having an enlarged diameter relatively long main portion 13, of circular cross-section, and a shorter reduced diameter nose portion 14. The cartridges are inserted in holder 10 in vertically extending positions, with'the small end portions 1 of the cartridges pointing downwardly. A user inserts and removes the cartridges by grasping their upper.

large diameter ends.

Holder ll) is preferably formed of a one piece body of elastomeric material, such as a suitable rubber, sufficiently soft to have a very substantial amount of flexibility, while at the sametime being hard enough to effectively grip and frictionally retain the cartridges At present, it is thought desirable that the Shore hardness of the rubber or other elastomeric material be between about 30 and 50, and for best results about 40.

For receiving the various cartridges, the rubber body contains a series of parallel vertically extending passages 35, each of which extends verticallyirom upper horizontal top wall 16 of theholder to bottom horizontal wall 17.v The various passages 15 may be considered.as'icenter'ed about individual spaced parallel vertical axes 13 (see FIG. 1), which axes may lie in a common vertical plane in the condition which the resilient body normally tends to assume by virtue of its own resilience.

Extending about and containing or defining each of the passages 15, the elastomeric body of holder 11 may be considered as forming a vertically extending tubular portion or side wall 19. Externally, these tubular portions 19 may have outer cylindrical surfaces 20, which in the preferred form of the invention are of uniform diameter along the entire axial extent of each passage 15, and which are continuous circularly about each of the passages except at connecting locations 21 and at two points 22 at the opposite ends of the device. At locations 21, adjacent portions 19 merge together to integrate these portions into a single unitary body structure. t points 22 (FIG. 4), the two end portions 19 have slight enlargements of their horizontal cross-sectional configuration, as shown, to form with a pair of vertical back walls 23 and 24 of the holder a pair of narrow vertical openings or passages 25 dimensioned and shaped to receive and closely confine a belt 11 passing therethrough.

The back walls 23 and 24 of the holder may be molded from the same piece of material which forms the front tubular portions 19, with walls 23 and 2.4 being thin and essentially planar and aligned with one another, to present front and rear surfaces 26 and 27 extending parallel to one another and parallel to a plane containing all of the various previously mentioned axes 18. Walls 23 and 24 may be integrally connected to the tubular front portions 19 of the holder by narrow top and bottom horizontal walls 28 and 29. As will be clear from a study of FIG. 2, the two back walls 23 and 24 are preferably located adjacent the opposite ends of the holder structure, with an interruption being formed at the center of the structure between two vertical edges and 31 of walls 23 and 24. Top walls 28 and 29 of the device may continue at the location of this interruption between edges 30 and 31 (see FIGS. 2 and 4).

To now describe the internal configuration of the various individual tubular portions 19, reference is first made to the showing of FIG. 3, which illustrates one of the portions 19in its normal unexpanded condition. In this condition, passage 15 may be considered essentially as having a main upper relatively long portion 32 of a first relatively large diameter, extending from upper surface 16 of the holder to a plane designated at 33, with the passage having beneath that location a shorter, smaller diameter bottom portion 34 extending vertically between a plane 35 and the bottom of the device. Between planes 33 and 35, passage 15 may taper progressively to form a throat 36 for receiving lower end portion 14 of a cartridge, and directing it into the reduced diameter portion 34 of the passage.

Upper portion 32 of passage 15 may be of straight cylindrical configuration except at the locations of two cartridge gripping rib or projection structures 37 and 38. At each of these locations, the elastomeric material of the holder forms an essentially annular radially inwardly projecting rib, which is desirably interrupted at a plurality of locations about its circular extent, say at the three locations designated 39 in FIG. 5. The three projections thus formed by each of the rib structures 37 and 33, between interruptions or gaps 39, may be identical, and each of uniform cross-section along its entire arcuate extent, with the inner arcuate surfaces 4% of the three projections of each rib structure being centered about a corresponding one of the axes 18 and being of a common radius with respect thereto. The interruptions 39 between the three projections of one of the rib structures extend outwardly to the diameter of the main cylindrical portion 32 of passage 15.

The internal diameter of bottom portion 34 of each passage 15 may be of a diameter substantially smaller than the diameter of inner surfaces 411 of projections 37 and 38. Also, it is preferred that the reduced diameter portion 34 have a plurality of interruptions or vertical slits 41 (FIG. 6) extending radially outwardly into the material of the holder at different circularly spaced locations, and desirably out to the diameter of main portion 32 of passage 15. These slits or interruptions 41 may extend directly vertically, and serve to form between the different interruptions a series of circularly spaced cartridge gripping projections 42. Interruptions 41 may continue upwardly to the previously discussed plane 33.

To now describe the manner of use of the holder of FIGS. 1 through 6, the holder is applied to a belt 11 by first inserting the belt into one of the openings 25 formed at the opposite ends of the holder, and then advancing the belt along the back sides of all of the various tubular cartridge receiving portions 19, and through the slots formed by and between these portions and the two walls 23 and 24. At the location of the intermediate gap pro vided between edges 30 and 31 in FIG. 2, the belt is passed through a belt loop of the wearers pants, so that the belt acts to securely retain holder 11 in a predetermined position relative to the pants.

The user inserts cartridges 12 into holder 10 by forcing the cartridges downwardly into the various passages 15. In the installed position of each of the cartridges (FIG. 1), lower portion 14 is received within and is effectively frictionally gripped and retained by, projections 42 formed at the location of lower reduced diameter portion 34 of passage 15. The upper main portion 13 of each cartridge is engaged and frictionally gripped and retained by projections 37 and 38, but preferably is spaced slightly from the main cylindrical wall 32 which carries projections 37 and 38. Thus, the cartridge is gripped at three vertically spaced locations 34, 37 and 38 in a manner securely holding the cartridge within passage 15.

By virtue of the resilience of the material from which holder 10 is formed, each tubular body portion 19 is expanded radially outwardly at the locations of projections 37, 38, and 42, when a cartridge is received within that tubular portion. Such expansion of the tubular portions 19 at the projection locations is illustrated at 43 and 44 in FIG. 1, and is illustrated in broken lines at 43 and 44 in FIGS. 3 and 5. As will be apparent, when the wall of one of the portions 19 expands in this manner, the resilience of the wall, which normally tends to return to its full line condition of FIG. 3, causes projections 37, 38 and 42 to exert the desired gripping force against the cartridge, to frictionally retain it. The formation of the various ribs or projections 37, 33 and 42 to be circularly discontinuous, as discussed, facilitates expansion of the side walls at the projection locations, since the individual projections are not directly interconnected at the locations 39, and therefore may expand relatively independently in diiferent directions. Further, the provision of interruptions 39 between diflerent portions of the projections or rib structures enables rain or moisture to pass downwardly through passages 15, and past the cartridges, to discharge from the bottom of the device without accumulation within the different passages.

In order to maximize the facility with which projections 37 and 38 may expand, upon the insertion of cartridges into the holder, I find it desirable that the projections 37 and 38 in each passage 15 be oliset vertically or axially a substantial distance from the corresponding projections in the adjacent passage or passages 15. This relationship is brought out clearly in FIG. 1, in which the projections 37 and 38 of the right hand passage 15 are located substantially above the corresponding projections of the next successive passage, etc.

Because of the discussed manner of engagement of the holder with each cartridge at only certain localized areas, the cartridges may be retained eifectively without at the same time developing such tight frictional engagement between the holder and cartridges as to make removal of a cartridge too difiicult. Further, the free expansibility of the device at the projection locations allows the projections to grip any of several dilferent sizes of cartridges within a fairly wide size range. should be noted that the expansibility of the cartridge holding tubular body portions 19 is enhanced by reason of the fact that external surfaces 20 form vertically extending recesses or grooves 45 and 4d, at both the front and rear sides of the holder, between successive cartridge receiving passages, so that the cartridge receiving walls 1? are at all points thin enough to expand freely.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but shows a device having a variational type of inner projection 37a, within each of the tubular cartridge receiving portions Ha of the device. In FIG. 7, the projection structure 37a forms an annular rib having the cross-section of rib 3'7 of FIG. 3, but interrupted only by narrow knife cuts 39a rather than by wide gaps as shown at 39 in PEG. 5. When a cartridge is received within the device of FIG. 7, the different sections of rib 37a expand separately in different directions, leaving gaps of appreciable width at 39a. As will be apparent, all three of the rib structures (at 37, 38 and 34 in FIG. 3) may have knife cuts as shown at 39a rather than gaps of substantial width, in the normal condition of the device. Otherwise, the device of FIGS. 7 and 8 may be identical with that of the first form of the invention.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show another form of cartridge holder which may be considered as identical with the first form of the invention except that two rows of cartridge receiving passages b and 1151) are provided, instead of a single row as in FIG. 1. In plan view, the two rows may be staggered with respect to one another as seen in FIG. 9, so that the walls of the different passages are at all points relatively thin. Also, the front row of passages 115b may be located somewhat lower than rear row 15b, as seen in FIG. 10, to facilitate access to the cartridges received within both rows of passages. In order that both the front and rear passages may terminate at the level of a common bottom wall 17b, the bottom reduced diameter portion 34b of the rear passages may be somewhat extended as compared with the corresponding reduced diameter portion 13412 of front passages 115/2. Cartridge gripping projections 37b, 38b, 1137b and 1385 may be the same as previously discussed, but with the projections of each passage 15b or 1151) being desirably ofiset vertically from all of the projections of all of the adjacent passages, whether in the front row or rear row.

FIG. 11 represents another form of the invention which may be the same as that of FIG. 1, except that the device has been extended to receive an increased number of cartridges, with two or more gaps 13% being formed at the rear of the device for receiving two or more belt loops. As will be apparent, the length of the FIG. 11 device may be long enough to extend substantially completely about the wearer, if desired.

FIG. 12 shows another form of holder 10d, which may be considered the same as that of FIG. 1, except that the lower reduced diameter portions 34d of adjacent passages ISd in FIG. 12 are offset axially or vertically with respect to one another, to facilitate expansion of the tubular side walls of the cartridge receiving passages at these bottom locations.

All of the various forms of the invention discussed above are especially adapted for use with rifle type cartridges, which have reduced diameter end portions receivable within the lower reduced portions of passages In this connection, it

ter of projectons 37 and 38, or could be further enlarged to the diameter of cylindrical surface 3-2.

FIG. 13 .is a horizontal section corresponding to FIG. 5, but representing an arrangement in which the ribs 37c formed by elastomeric body ltle, within passages 15c, are elongated axially, i.e. parallel to axes 18e of the pas sages, rather than circularly about those axes. If the holder of FIG. 13 is to receive shot gun cartridges, the passages 15 and contained ribs 37c may be of uniform cross-section along the entire vertical extent of th hold er (as between surfaces 16 and 17 in FIG. 3), to eifectively grip and retain an externally cylindrical shot gun cartridge. If rifle cartridges are to be held, the passages may have lower restricted portions. The projections 3742 may take any of various cross-section shapes, such as the rounded cross-section of FIG. 13, or a more pointed radially inwardly tapering section as seen at 37f.in FIG. 14. In both FIGS. 13 and 14, the inner surface areas 32:? and 32 between ribs 3% and 37 may be of cylindrical configuration, centered about axes 18a and 18], and extending parallel toouter cylindrical surfaces 206 and 20).

We claim: 7

1. A gun cartridge holder comprising a body of elastomenic material containing a series of passages for receiving and holding a series of cartridges, said body forming side walls extending about and defining said passages and carrying localized projections at predetermined locations and projecting into the passages at said locations farther than do other axially adjacent portions of the side walls, whereby said projections grip and hold 2. A gun cartridge holder for receiving a plurality of cartridges having main enlarged'diameter portions and forward smaller diameter portions, said holder including a body of elastomeric material containing a series of passages for receiving said cartridges, said body forming elastomeric side walls extending about and defining said passages and forming first relatively long enlarged diameter portions of the passages for receiving said main portions of the cartridges and shorter more restricted second portions of the passages for receiving said forward portions of the cartridges, said side walls forming elastomeric localized cartridge engaging projections at predetermined locations within said first portions of the passages and projecting into the passages farther than do other axially ofiset parts of said first portions of the side Walls, whereby said projections locally grip and hold said main portions of the cartridges, said projections forming within said first portion of the individual passages at least two axially spaced generaly annular but circularly discontinuous rib structures projecting locally inwardly from one of said side walls and constructed to extend essentially circularly about and to essentially circularly engage a containedcartridge, said side walls forming at said second portions of the individual passages a plurality of inwardly extending second projections engageable with said forward end of a cartridge at different circularly offset locations, with interruptions being formed circularly between said second projections, said body containing a slot behind said passages for receiving a. belt to secure the holder thereto, said body having a forwardly facing front surface and a rearwardly facing back surface at the front and rear sides respectively of a series of saidpassages, said back surface being positioned to be-received adjacent a belt when the latter is received in 15, etc. If it is desired to adapt any of these forms of v the invention for use with shot gun shells or cartridges,

which of course do not have reduced ends, the lower;

reduced portions of the passages may be eliminated. For example, in the FIG. 3 arrangement, the lower narrow portion 34 of passages 15 could for this purpose be enlarged to a diameter corresponding to the internal diamesaid slot, said front surface being recessed rearwardly and said rear surface being recessed forwardly at locations between successive ones of said passages to follow generally the contour of said passages, said rib structures in two adjacent passages being ofiset axially with respect to one another. 7 g

3. A guncartridge holder comprising a body of elastomeric material containing a series of passages for receiving and holding a series of cartridges, said body forming elastomeric side walls extending about and defining said passages and forming localized generally annular but circularly discontinuous rib structures occupying only a minor portion of the axial extent of said passages and projecting into said passages at predetermined locations to locally grip and hold the cartridges at said locations, said rib structures in two adjacent passages being offset axially with respect to one another.

4. A gun cartridge holder comprising a body of elastomeric material having a forwardly facing surface and a rearwardly facing surface and containing a series of generally parallel passages between said surfaces for receiving and holding a series of cartridges, spaced belt encircling means associated with the rearwardly facing surface and defining spaced belt receiving slots for securing it to a belt adjacent said surface, said rearwardly facing surface which is adjacent the belt containing recesses at a series of spaced locations between successive ones of said passages following the general contour of said passages so that the passages have rear walls which are thin over a substantial area and are therefore readily expansible by said cartridges, said passages having generally annular but discontinuous rib means projecting into said passages at spaced predetermined locations to locally grip and hold the cartridges at said locations.

5. A gun cartridge holder comprising a body of elastorneric material to be carried on the belt of a user, said body containing a series of generally vertically extending passages for receiving and holding a series of cartridges,

said body forming Walls of elastomeric material extending about and defining said passages, said elastomeric material forming localized generally annular but circularly discontinuous cartridge engaging lugs integral with said walls and projecting generally radially inwardly into said passages at a plurality of difierent axially spaced locations to locally grip and hold said cartridges, said lugs occupying only a minor portion of the axial extent of said passages, said elastomeric material of the body containing spaced slots extending horizontally therethrough behind said passages for receiving said belt to secure the holder thereto, said body having a forwardly facing front surface forwardly of said passages and a rearwardly facing back surface behind said passages, said rearwardly facing surface defining the fronts of said slots and being positioned to be received adjacent a belt when the latter is received in said slots, said front surface containinga series of generally parallel vertically extending recesses extending rearwardly thereinto at locations between successive passages to follow generally the contour of said passages, said rearwardly facing surface containing a series of generally parallel vertically extending recesses extending forwardly thereinto at locations between successive passages to follow generally the contour of said passages.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 808,854 Mayer Ian. 2, 1906 1,911,256 Andrew May 30, 1933 2,306,365 Stair Dec. 22, 1942 2,594,955 Markowitz Apr. 29, 1952 

1. A GUN CARTRIDGE HOLDER COMPRISING A BODY OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL CONTAING A SERIES OF PASSAGES FOR RECEIVING AND HOLDING A SERIES OF CARTRIDGES, SAID BODY FORMING SIDE WALLS EXTENDING ABOUT AND DEFINING SAID PASSAGES AND CARRYING LOCALIZED PROJECTIONS AT PREDETERMINED LOCATIONS AND PROJECTING INTO THE PASSAGES AT SAID LOCATIONS FARTHER THAN DO OTHER AXIALLY ADJACENT PORTIONS OF THE SIDE WALLS, WHEREBY SAID PROJECTIONS GRIP AND HOLD THE CARTRIDGES AT SAID LOCATIONS, SAID PROJECTIONS FORMED IN TWO ADJACENT PASSAGES BEING OFFSET AXIALLY WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER. 